Tag Archives: Defender

Stuck in the Mud

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‘Stuck in the Mud’ is a staple of playground gaming. Like ‘It’ only without the transferable disease of ‘It-ness’, the game involves being rooted to the spot if a player is touched by the sticker, until they are freed through being touched by another player or – for those taking the game to the next level – a player crawls between the legs of the stickee.

Adults seem to find this concept appealing too, as there is a particular subset of off-roading enthusiasts (an already pretty weird bunch), who like to get themselves deliberately stuck just so that they can winch themselves out again. And that’s before we get to one of the oddest corners of YouTube involving girls getting stuck in mud whilst wearing inappropriate footwear.

We’re not sure if that’s what’s going on here, but SP Design has certainly managed to portray the new Land Rover Defender getting very stuck indeed. Fortunately he’s also built an original (proper) Defender to rescue the new version, with each being recreated brilliantly in brick form. Head to SP’s photostream via the link above to put your high heels on and get winching.

Cigarettes on Safari

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Nothing says adventure like lung cancer and breathing difficulties! At least that what was thought back when cigarette brand Camel sponsored the amazing Land Rover rally named after them from 1980 to 2000. Still, with Red Bull and Monster energy drinks sponsoring pretty much every extreme sport these days perhaps we’ve not moved on as much as we’d like to think…

This phenomenal Land Rover Defender 110 in stunning Camel Trophy spec is the work of Manuel Nascimento of Flickr, and it is very probably the finest 4×4 that The Lego Car Blog has featured this year. The iconic off-roader’s exterior has been recreated to perfection, including all the adventuring paraphernalia that accompanied these vehicles through jungles, mountain and deserts, and with accurate branding – including the infamous cigarette advertising – courtesy of superb custom decals.

Underneath the incredible exterior the engineering excellent continues, with working lights operated via a third-party SBrick, Power Functions remotely controlled steering, winch, and four-wheel-drive, working suspension, and a four-speed gearbox. Opening doors, a beautifully detailed interior and a roof-mounted tent also feature, plus Manuel has constructed a lovely desert base to accompany his model.

There’s loads more of this spectacularly built and presented creation to see at Manuel’s Land Rover Defender 110 Flickr album, where you can also find a link to a video demonstrating the model’s features. Light up a cigarette via the link above (no, don’t – but do click the link!).

Proper Defender

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After mocking those who fail to embrace change and progress in yesterday’s post, today we’re failing to embrace change and progress…

The new Land Rover Defender, revealed inadvertently in LEGO form here at The Lego Car Blog earlier this year, looks tragically like yet another Discovery iteration. Not the Discovery is a bad car (apart from reliability maybe…), but Land Rover already make the Discovery, Discovery Sport, Ranger Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Velar, which are all basically the same car. The last thing we needed was the Defender to become just another clone.

It’ll probably sell very well to begin with mind, as being the new Defender will be enough to make it cool, but we fear it won’t last long. We’d much rather have this; the original Defender, a vehicle that was in continuous production relatively unchanged for decades and that is now a surefire appreciating classic.

This beautiful Model Team recreation of the iconic Land Rover Defender in 110 Station Wagon form comes from BrickMonkey MOCs who has captured the real car brilliantly. A few choice mods including an external cage, winch, roof lights and luggage rack up the coolness even further and there’s more to see of Monkey’s wonderful creation at his Land Rover Defender Flickr album. Click the link above to rail against progress…

Another Defender

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No not that Technic Land Rover Defender, this is the original (it’d be embarrassing if someone thought the new 42110 official Land Rover Defender set was the old one wouldn’t it?…), in North American specification if we’re not mistaken.

The Defender was sold for just a few short years in the United States making it a very rare (and now very cool) vehicle there. As a result prices for Defenders in the U.S have gone insane, which gives us serious inclination to export a few from our home nation, where they can be bought for a few grand and a packet of crisps.

The other alternative is to build your own, which is exactly what Kevin Moo has done with this excellent fully remote controlled Technic version. Underneath the realistic U.S-Spec exterior is a complete four-wheel-drive system with working suspension and remote control steering, plus there are opening doors, a brick-built hard-top, and an authentically spartan interior.

There’s more to see of Kevin’s creation on Flickr and at the Eurobricks discussion forum – click the links to take a look, and you can check out our preview of the upcoming officially licensed Land Rover Defender Technic set (which also inadvertently previews the actual new Land Rover Defender) by clicking here.

42110 Technic Land Rover Defender | Set Preview

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Oops. We suspect someone is going have an interesting day on Monday. This is the new Land Rover Defender. And by new, we really do mean new. The new Defender it not on sale yet, the press releases haven’t been issued, and camouflaged test cars are still pounding African roads.

Yet here the new Defender is, photographed un-camouflaged, complete with engine specs… only it’s in LEGO Technic form. Oops indeed.

We can’t take the credit/blame for this one as we haven’t yet dispatched our usual team of Elves to sneak into The LEGO Company’s HQ to bring back previews of the upcoming Technic sets. Instead this image was found on the website of a British toy shop, where we suspect it’s been mistakenly uploaded far too early.

Unfortunately the 42110 Land Rover Defender set seems to confirm our misgivings about the direction the new Defender has been taken. Spy-shots of prototypes have hinted at a fairly generic, very un-iconic looking SUV, and that appears to be exactly what we’ve got here. It’s certainly not a design that befits the Defender’s incredible 50 years of continuous production heritage.

Still, the Technic model itself looks properly good, features a slew of new pieces, and we particularly like the olive green colour chosen. The new 42110 Land Rover Defender set is also packed with mechanical functionality, featuring a winch, working steering, suspension, four-wheel-drive with three differentials, and a four-speed gearbox. That the description also claims the officially licensed LEGO set ‘captures the vehicle’s level of refinement’ and features a 6-cylinder engine makes us seriously worry for the real Defender’s future though…

We expect the new 42110 Technic Land Rover Defender set to cost around £160 when it reaches stores later in 2019, and someone to be in a bit of trouble come Monday…

Dirty Weekend

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Lego Technic Land Rover Defender

First featured here back in 2014 as a Power Functions remote control model, Krzysztof Cytacki (aka Dirtzone)’s stunning Technic Land Rover Defender 110 has recently been updated and wonderfully re-photographed.

The model has had its Power Functions drivetrain removed since it was first featured here, and now features a full ‘Technic Supercar’ set-up, with working steering, an inline 4-cylinder engine connected to all four wheels, and live-axle suspension.

There are some fantastic shots of each of the working components, showing how the engine, suspension, chassis and bodywork are constructed, plus of course more brilliant on-location images of the complete model like those shown here.

Head over to Krzysztof’s Land Rover Defender Flickr album for the complete gallery and start your dirty weekend.

Lego Technic Land Rover Defender

Land Rescue

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Land Rover Defender Rescue

The Land Rover Defender is not the fastest rescue vehicle ever made. It can however, rescue you where ever you are, and if you need rescuing it’s probably because you’re a long way from civilisation. This neat Model Team version of one of the world’s most adaptable and versatile vehicles comes from Flickr’s Gilcelio chagas, which includes opening doors, a fully kitted interior, and a plethora of rescue apparatus. There’s more to see of Gilcelio’s Land Rover Defender at his photostream via the link above, and you if you want to see an even weirder version of the iconic British off-roader, take a look here…

Land Rover Defender Rescue

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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Lego Land Rover Defender 4x4 Remote Control

This incredible replica of Land Rover’s iconic Defender 90, in full Camel Trophy specification, comes from previous bloggee and TLCB legend Sariel, and it’s a very special bit of kit.

Other than the custom decals, all-terrain RC tyres and a suite of LEGO-compatible SBrick bluetooth controllers Sariel’s creation is all LEGO, and it’s one of the most thoroughly engineered and capable machines that we’ve ever come across.

Lego Technic Land Rover Camel Trophy

Beneath the wonderfully accurate bodywork is a full remote control drivetrain, with two XL motors powering all four wheels and Servo controlling the steering. Of course 4-wheel-drive doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good off-road’, as for that you need locking differentials. Sariel’s model has three.

He’s also equipped his Defender with a remotely operated 4-speed gearbox, a front mounted winch (geared to match the gearbox’s lowest ratio), live axle suspension, and working lights.

Lego Land Rover Defender Sariel

To really appreciate this beautiful build you need to see it in action. Luckily Sariel’s got that covered as he’s produced an excellent video to accompany the superb photography. Watch it below, and you can see the Defender’s full gallery of images  via Flickr, MOCpages and Brickshelf, plus you can read all the details of how this model was created at Sariel’s own website here.

YouTube Video:

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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Lego Land Rover Camel Trophy

We rarely feature modifications of other peoples’ creations here at TLCB, but when a builder as accomplished as RM8 decides to use a design by Master MOCer Sheepo as the basis for a build, we think we can let that rule slide a bit…

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy Lego Remote Control

This is RM8 (real name Egor Karshiev)’s brilliant Technic Land Rover Defender 90 in full Camel Trophy specification. Based on the original Defender design by Sheepo, Egor has extensively updated the hardware using his own significant Lego off-roading experience.

Power Functions motors control the drive and steering whilst tough all-wheel-drive and suspension systems allow this little Lego Defender to go anywhere the real car can (if it were really small).

Lego Technic Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy Remote Control

Egor’s presentation is top notch stuff too, with both studio and on-location shots taken superbly, and he’s created several excellent videos showing how the Land Rover was built and what it can do outside in the rough stuff.

Lego Technic Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy Sheepo RM8 RC

There’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum, Egor’s MOCpages account, and via the YouTube video below, plus you can see more of Egor’s rival in-house designed Technic off-roader (which coincidentally was the real Land Rover’s key rival too) by clicking here.

YouTube Video:

Expedition

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Lego land Rover Defender

After earlier stating that Land Rover’s iconic Defender is not the world’s best 4×4, we’re now posting one here – #awks…

But – the trusty LR is still a hugely important vehicle, being produced relatively unchanged for an incredible 67 years. That mighty production run ends next year, and to celebrate the life of one of motoring’s most influential cars previous bloggee Miro Dudas has recreated the 4×4 legend in Lego Town form, complete with expedition rack, winch, and assorted adventuring equipment. Join in the journey on Flickr at the link above.

The Last of the LR Defenders

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Lego Land Rover Defender

Land Rover’s brilliant Defender dies next year, after more than 50 years of continual production. In celebration of this amazing vehicle MOCpage’s Nick Barrett has recreated the iconic off-roader in its final 2015 specification. His long-wheelbase 110 Station Wagon includes the four-cylinder turbo-diesel powering the last generation of cars, opening doors, hood and tailgate, plus folding seats working steering and working suspension. There’s lots more to see at Nick’s MOCpage – click the link to take a look.

Lego Land Rover Defender

Little Landie

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Lego Land Rover Series II

You don’t need a million bricks to appear here. Galaktek‘s classic Land Rover (Series II we think?) uses only a handful of pieces and is still wonderfully recognisable. See more via the link above.

Seeing Red

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Lego technic Land Rover Defender

Today we saw the return of two Elves, both clutching things of much redness. The first red thing turned out to be this, Rabbitdesign‘s superb Technic Land Rover Defender 110, which has one of the most thoroughly engineered chassis we’ve ever seen (a trip to MOCpages via the link above is highly recommended to see how he’s done it).

Coincidentally this year will be the Defender’s last. Emissions and safety laws have finally caught up with the 1940s design, signalling an end to more than 60 years of continual production.

Lego German Tug Aircraft

Elf No.2’s red thing was discovered on Flickr. It’s a German target tug by Sydag, used for towing things into the sky to be shot at, and it’s a wonderfully smooth build. There’s more to see at the link above.

The Best 4x4xFar

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Lego Land Rover

Suggested to us by a reader we round off today’s Technic-biased musings with this superb Land Rover Defender. It was found on Image Shack and has been built by the previously unknown-to-us dirtzone.

The Defender features Power Functions drive and steering, opening doors, and a truly fantastic suspension set-up. Dirtzone has made a large gallery of images available to view at the aforementioned link, which includes chassis and component photographs. Check it out and be inspired!

Lego Land Rover

FebRovery’s Finishing Flourish

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CS Landrover

Apologies for the unimaginative title but we’ve been a bit pre-occupied dealing with a combined Elf and Mini-Fig uprising here at TLCB Towers. Now the that airhorn is recharged, we’ve time to bring you this rather charming creation from Miro Dudas, on Flickr. Possibly the most normal looking car in the FebRovery group, the Lunar Rover 90 is standard Land Rover, which has been modified for use in space. Apparently this was done to save money on developing a new moon buggy. You can see the complete range of weird and wonderful vehicles which were created last month by following this link to the FebRovery Group.